


Stars Of Her Own

by PJO_Fangirl_13



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Annabeth is a good mom, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), F/M, Futurefic, Other, Percy is a good dad, Post-Canon, bob says hello, percababies, they teach their kids about the stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:40:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29480064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PJO_Fangirl_13/pseuds/PJO_Fangirl_13
Summary: The campfire they're sitting around is brightly ablaze, the orange glow lighting up the joyous expressions on the faces of the many demigods singing along to the songs being specially led by the Apollo cabin. Annabeth's sitting with her arms wrapped securely Priya who had fallen asleep on her lap a little bit ago; Percy's on her right, keeping a close eye on their son who is perfectly content in sitting on the ground munching on a raw marshmallow; and Anthea's on her right, swaying along to the melody coming from the musical instruments."Where's the Perseus constellation?" her eight year-old asks quietly once the song ended.Or, the one where Percy and Annabeth take their kids to camp and teach them about the stories hidden within the night sky
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Kudos: 26





	Stars Of Her Own

When they'd made the quick settlement to take their children out to Camp Half-Blood for a getaway weekend before school starts back up, Annabeth hadn't specifically planned on teaching her two daughters how to detect the constellations hidden within the stars that freckle the magnificent night sky. 

The campfire they're sitting around is brightly ablaze, the orange glow lighting up the joyous expressions on the faces of the many demigods singing along to the songs being specially led by the Apollo cabin. Annabeth's sitting with her arms wrapped securely Priya who had fallen asleep on her lap a little bit ago; Percy's on her right, keeping a close eye on their son who is perfectly content in sitting on the ground munching on a raw marshmallow; and Anthea's on her right, swaying along to the melody coming from the musical instruments. 

"Where's the Perseus constellation?" her eight year-old asks quietly once the song ended. 

Annabeth averts her eyes away from Leander who's reaching for another marshmallow (usually he's only allowed tow, but it's a special night) and gazes up at the sky. The beaming sun set behind the trees surrounding camp long ago- the moon now taking its rightful place as the light of the night. Unlike at home, the sky isn't aglow with city lights, but a veil of twinkling stars decorate the clear terrestrial. The sight's beautiful and Annabeth finds herself staring longer than what is needed, like she often does when the sun finally decides to say its goodbye until dawn. Her brain wanders to a place it hadn't visited in years, and Annabeth thinks back to a time when she believed she'd never live to see a glimpse of the sky again, much less stare at it for hours on end like she frequently finds herself doing. 

She hadn't genuinely appreciated the sky until her quest beneath Rome all those years ago. Being trapped underneath an ancient city, Annabeth had anticipated it to be covered in a blanket of darkness. She never wished so desperately for a singly beam of sunlight until then, and when she finally had the opportunity to see the sky and be aware of her survival, Percy and she were pulled into the depths of Tartarus. Down there the only light had been reflected off the Phlegethon which still didn't provide much- only casting a red hue throughout the landscape. While facing all the horrors that came with the fall and slowly losing her sanity to the pit, Annabeth had lost almost all hope of ever seeing the stars again. But with the help of two amazing heroes, she lived to see all the sunrises and sunsets, the stars and moon that light up the dark sky. Since then, Annabeth valued the stars a lit more, especially now that she gets to share their beauty with three little stars of her own. 

Speaking of those little stars, a soft voice pulls Annabeth out of her short reverie. 

"Mom?" 

Breaking contact with the stars shining bright above her, Annabeth meet Anthea's eyes, and she notices how the stars' light is reflecting in the familiar green irises. "Yeah?" she responds, unwrapping an arm from around Priya to brush the blonde curls away from her oldest's face. 

"Are you okay? You blanked out," Anthea informs her. Her light eyebrows are drawn together, and Annabeth is once again taken back into time- a time when she'd been recovering from a fatal shoulder wound. Percy's eyebrows had been scrunched together in worry and she'd called him cute before they watched the sunset together out on the terrace.

"I'm okay," Annabeth assures her. "I'm just thinking, as usual. What did you ask again?" 

Anthea shifts in her seat. "The Perseus constellation- where is it? Some Hecate campers were talking about it earlier. I tried looking for it but... I can't seem to figure it out, and Dad told me you showed him all the constellations when you were younger. Could you show me?" 

Annabeth smiles and readjust Priya- who blinks her eyes open from the sudden movement- on her lap so she's able to point up at the stars. "You see the Big Dipper?"

"Yeah," she says, squinting at the sky. "Right there?"

"Exactly," Annabeth confirms proudly. She lifts her hand, pointing at a specific star connected to the popular constellation. "Now draw a W starting with that star right there. See it?" Anthea nods so she proceeds, "Continue the W's three more times to the right, then you should be able to see Mirfak between those two stars-" She points and Anthea follows her finger. "-which is the brightest star in Perseus. Connect that star to the ones around it."

Anthea's eyes widen when she makes the connection. "I see it!" 

"I don't," Priya complains sleepily, lolling her head against Annabeth's shoulder. 

Laughing at her seven year-old, Annabeth points at the constellation. "Right there. See? Connect the dots." 

Priya grunts. "All I see is stars. 

"Priya, connect them," Annabeth chuckles. 

"I am!" she insists. 

Annabeth kisses her temple. "You're just sleepy. Do you want me to bring you to the cabin?" 

"No. I want to stay here." Her eyes close. 

Annabeth rests her cheek against her youngest daughter's dark curly head, allowing the warmth radiating off the fire to comfortably glaze her face, eyes momentarily closing until she hears her four year-old son giggle. Her lips quirk up in an amused smile as Annabeth watches Leander shove another marshmallow into Percy's mouth. He laughs till his face is a dark shade of red when Percy tries talking incoherently. 

"Is that a constellation?" Anthea asks a moment later. 

"Hm?" She hums. "Where?" 

Anthea points a little to the left where a group of shining stars form an outline of a girl pulling back the bowstring, ready to shoot any monster that crosses her path with a silver arrow. "I've looked through books full of the constellations but I don't recognize that one. It's a girl?" 

Annabeth follows her finger. "That's Zoë Nightshade. She was a hunter." 

"Like Aunt Thalia?" 

"Yeah. I didn't really know her. Dad did though." 

"Can I ask him? Or... is it a sensitive topic?" Anthea asks carefully. 

Her heart expands with an overwhelming sense of love for her daughter, and Annabeth wonders how she managed to raise someone so considerate (it's probably all Percy's doing if she's going to be completely honest). Anthea hasn't heard half the stories of Percy and her's past, only minor details (they've specifically kept out Tartarus) but she understands these unfortunate experiences have caused them to develop post traumatic stress disorder. She's even seen both her and Percy on the verge of panic attacks (though her one year old self probably couldn't comprehend what had been happening) multiple times, and even though Anthea doesn't have to, she decides to be careful about what she says in fear that it'll be triggering. 

"You can ask him." She squeezes Anthea's hand. 

"Okay. I just-" 

"It's okay, Anthea," Annabeth reassuringly says, squeezing her hand again. "It's not so much a sensitive topic anymore." 

Anthea nods and reluctantly stands from where she's sitting- only to squeeze herself back down between Percy and Annabeth. Her glances over at her and smiles, mouth no longer full of marshmallows, though he does offer her one of the sugary pillows. She takes it gratefully but doesn't eat it right away, instead picks at his nervously. "Dad, can I ask you something?" 

Percy's smile slowly fades into a frown and his eyebrows scrunch together in worry. "Of course. You can ask me anything, Tea." 

"Who's Zoë Nightshade? I saw her constellation." 

Percy glances up at the stars then back down at Anthea. Annabeth expected his green eyes to dull at the mention of Zoë, but they're shining a vibrant green- as if he's excited to finally share this story with their daughter (and he probably is). "She was Artemis' lieutenant for hundreds of years. She even spoke Shakespearean. Anyways, she accompanied me-" Annabeth arches an eyebrow when he catches her eyes, and he smirks. "Well, I accompanied her, Aunt Thalia, and Uncle Grover on the quest to save Artemis and your mom when we were only teenagers." 

Annabeth sends him a small smile and Percy happily returns the kind gesture before carrying on with his explanation regarding Anthea's question. She stops listening when Leander gets to his feet and comes to stand in front of her, small hands splayed over her knees. His grey eyes are shining in the fire's light and a troublemaker grin that makes Annabeth weary is painted across his face. 

"What?" she asks suspiciously. 

His grin widens. "Marshmallow?" 

"How many have you had?" 

Leander looks up in thought before looking back at her. "Three!" he exclaims, holding up four fingers and Annabeth doesn't have the heart to correct him.

"One more and then you're done. We don't want to get a tummy ache before bedtime, do we?" She asks with a raised eyebrow. 

"Yay!" Leander skips back over to the marshmallow bag sitting beside Percy's feet. As he's teaching one, Percy catches his wrist, shaking his head. Leander pouts. "Mommy said I can." 

"Oh, alright," Percy mutters and lets their son grab another. 

Annabeth holds out her free arm and Leander happily walks right into it, allowing her to pull him up onto her vacant leg- the one Priya isn't currently sleeping on. She presses a big kiss to her son's dimpled cheek as he chews on the sweet treat. 

"Whoa," Leander breathes. "The fire is so big!" 

Annabeth lifts her gaze to the fire. It's still orange. Most the campers are talking quietly among themselves- so the fire hasn't turned any extravagant color like it had been when the sing along had been in session. The bright flames lick the warm August air, the smoke rising up into the starry sky and an idea sparks within her. 

"Hey, you want to hear a story?" she asks her youngest, bouncing him on her knee. 

"Ooh, yeah!" Leander shouts, wiping his sticky hands on his shorts, and Annabeth reaches for the baby wipes but remembers she'd forgotten them in the Poseidon cabin. 

"When daddy and I were sixteen, we went on an adventure," Annabeth begins. Okay, so maybe she normally wouldn't have called their track through Tartarus an adventure, but she can't possibly tell her four year-old son his parents fell into the deepest part of hell. For all he knows, the place doesn't even exist. "But we ran into some trouble on our way home." 

Leander tilts his head upwards to look at her. His grey eyes reflect the light from the flames, making them take on an amber color, and Annabeth can see the worry painted into them as he quietly asks, "Monsters?" 

A four year-old shouldn't even know monsters exist. He should be afraid they're hiding under the bed or in the closet and his parents assure him they're not real. But unfortunately, that's not the case in the Jackson household (there's no monsters beneath the bed or in the closet but they can't say they don't exist). 

Leander's first encounter with a monster had happened only a few months ago. They'd been at the park- Leander and her- while Percy stayed home with the girls to bake cookies. An empousa had showed up, disguised as a young mother much like herself. Annabeth had been suspicious from the start, but Leander didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. For almost a half an hour, the empousa acted normal, pushing her young daughter on the swing. That is until Annabeth caught a glimpse of her bronze leg and decided to call it a day. Leander put up a small fight and Annabeth ended up just hoisting him into her arms and leaving the part as soon as she could, but the empousa followed. The younger monster stood aside and allowed her mother to do all the dirty work. 

It had been one of the scariest moments in Annabeth's life- keeping Leander out of the way so he wouldn't get hurt. Normally Annabeth would have just told him to keep out of the way and she would have if the empousa hadn't been specifically after him. She had actually told her son to run as far away as he could, but he hadn't budged. He hadn't even let go of her hand, so she shoved him away. He'd scraped his elbow against the sidewalk but Annabeth was too busy fighting off the empousa to dig through her bag and slap a bandaid onto the wound. Fortunately, she finished off the empousa but she hadn't had the heart to swing her blade through the younger one who had started to cry, so she just harshly told her to go back where she came form. 

After the encounter, Percy and Annabeth had no choice than to tell him the truth. 

"Yes, monsters," Annabeth confirms his suspicions. We were being chased. The only way out was crawling with monsters. I was weaponless and daddy was tired. We met two friendly heroes- Bob and Damasen but-" 

"Bob," he giggles. 

Annabeth can't help but laugh. "Yes. Bob. Like our cat." A few years ago- when she'd only been a few months pregnant with Leander- Percy and she had gone to the animal shelter to look at the kittens (she's more of a dog person but she figured a Manhattan apartment wouldn't be much room for them to run around). They ended up adopting an adorable black, one legged cat and agreed to name him Bob after the friendly titan who helped them through Tartarus. "Anyway, they helped us. Do you know what Bob wished for before we left?" 

"What?" Leander stares up in anticipation. 

"He told us to tell the stars hello," she tells him softly, nodding her chin upwards to prompt him to look at the stars. He looks up, blond curly head falling back onto her shoulder from leaning it back so far. A soft gasp escapes his lips and Annabeth smiles fondly, kissing his forehead. "Would you like tot tell the stars Bob says hello?" 

"Stars, say hello to Bob!" he exclaims enthusiastically. 

Annabeth laughs, and Percy must have overheard. He pauses his conversation with Anthea to laugh, reaching across Annabeth's shoulders to tickle the back of Leander's neck. Their son laughs adorably and squirms away. He probably would have fallen of her lap if she didn't have such a tight hold on him. 

"Careful," she chuckles. 

"Wait... did you and Dad name our cat after Bob?" Anthea asks once Percy's finished telling her the honorable sacrifice Zoë had made. 

Annabeth feels a warm blush creep up the back of her neck but Percy answers the question, "We did. We did it because he helped us, along with Damasen. They sacrificed themselves so your mom and I could make it back home safely, even though they didn't have to. They're heroes."

"Hm, that's nice," Anthea comments genuinely. She leans her head against Percy's arm, tucking her legs into his side for warmth, and silently watches the fire. A few minutes passed by when her eyelids start to become to heavy to keep open.

Soon two of their three kids are asleep. 

But of course, all three kids can't be asleep. Leander's still awake and as hyper as ever from those four marshmallows they've allowed him to eat (they're not regretting it) throughout the night. He's giggling uncontrollably as he passes a blue rubber ball back and forth with a thirteen year-old daughter of Demeter after asking permission from both parents to do so first. 

"I don't think Anthea was expecting a full history lesson tonight," Percy jokes. 

"No, but it was good that she heard it," Annabeth tells him softly, replacing her left arm around Priya with her right so she can tangle her fingers with Percy's. He squeezes her hand affectionately. "I know Leander's too young to fully understand the importance of what Bob and Damasen did for us, but it just felt right to tell them. To tell all of them." She fondly looks between her children, two of which are sleeping while the other lets out another loud laugh as he catches the ball in his small arms. 

Percy nods and kisses her temple. "I get it. I don't think any of them will really understand. Assuming they don't go through the same things we did." 

"If the gods ever pull my kids into their shit, I don't think I'll be able to control myself," Annabeth admits. "I might go all Sally Jackson on them." 

Percy throws his head back and laughs. "I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing," he says once their laughter dies down. "Though, I understand why you told him. When he'd older we can go more into depth with it." 

Annabeth nods. "I'm just- I'm hesitant to tell them anything in detail. They're- they're the lights of my life- besides you- and I would hate for out past to affect the way they live. I don't want to them to live in fear it will happen to them."

"Me neither. But as much as I don't want them to know about everything we've been though, it could also be dangerous for them not to know," Percy says quietly, almost as if he's afraid to say his thoughts too loudly. "What if- when they're walking home from school one day in a few years- or from anywhere- and a monster shows up, and they don't know what to do? It won't end well." 

"What are you thinking?" Annabeth asks just as quietly.

Percy swallows thickly and looks down at Anthea who's still sleeping against him, blonde hair falling in front of her face. "I- I don't like it but... I think Anthea should start attending camp next summer." 

Annabeth takes in a deep breath, letting his words sink in. It's not entirely random. They've been considering the idea of sending Anthea to camp for a while no, but they haven't come this close to making a decision. They're always pushing it aside with nothing will happen or she's still a little girl, really using anything as an excuse for her not to go. But now she's only just realizing how selfish they've been being. Percy's right. If they keep her from training any longer, a monster could catch her off guard in the city or at school, and Annabeth doesn't want to think of the outcome. 

"Okay... what about Priya?" 

"Another year or so," Percy answers after a minute of silence. He watches carefully as Leander follows the daughter of Demeter- Livie's her name- near the fire where the ball landed, only tearing his eyes away when they're back in a safer area. "I know you started attending camp at her age but... she's still so young. And I know we've mad that an excuse to not send Anthea, but monsters don't seem to be as attracted to her." 

It's true. Once Anthea turned five (excluding the time in California when Arachne had showed up at Annabeth's dad's house seven years ago), monsters had started showing up here and there, asking about the eldest Jackson child. Of course, Percy and Annabeth are always able to fight them off before they can lay a talon on their daughter, but it still leaves them shaken up. Lately the attacks have decreased to almost nothing, but they're not getting their hopes up. With Priya, however, it's been different. There's been a few surprise encounters every now and then, but never as often as Anthea. Both Percy and her think it's because Anthea had already developed Percy's water abilities as a baby during bath rime (though she's only able to stop water from flowing from the faucet as of right now) and Priya has shown no sign of said powers. 

"Okay," Annabeth breathes. "We should let Chiron know before we leave tomorrow- about sending Anthea next year. I think I'll have her stay in the Athena cabin so she's not alone." 

"That's fine," Percy agrees. "I know Tyson still visits once in a while but he's not always the most... peaceful company." 

Annabeth cracks a grin. "Anthea loves him so much I don't know if she'd mind." 

"Probably not. But I'd feel better knowing she's in a cabin full of people who will look after her," Percy says. "I wouldn't want her being alone, especially since she's only eight, in a cabin." 

"Then it's settles," Annabeth declares, her voice shaky. "Anthea's going to camp next summer and will stay in the Athena cabin..." her voice dies out as the realization settles in. She must have looked pretty solemn because Percy reaches over to brush the curls away from her face, tucking them behind her ear. 

"Hey, you okay?" 

"Yes?" Annabeth tries but Percy doesn't seem to believe her and she lets her shoulders drop. Her eyes stay focused on Anthea as she explains, "It's just... it's three months. Three months she'll be away from home. Three months she'll be away from us. She's- she's my baby girl and I'm not ready to let her out of my sight for three months." 

"I know, me too," Percy says, his voice full of understanding and Annabeth gives him a grateful smile, though she feels her eyes watering. "Come here." He holds his arms out, careful not to jostle Anthea.

Annabeth sighs as she leans into him, careful not to squish their children between them. Her ear is pressed to his chest and just the sound of his steadily beating heart calms her nerves. It's only three months. It's not like she'll be gone for an entire year. Anthea will be safe and protected within the magical boarders of camp. She also finds some comfort in knowing Chiron's here, Rachel visits her cave occasionally, and Grover and Juniper along with little Jane and Giddian live just inside the woods. However, this newfound comfort doesn't keep a mother from worrying, but Annabeth relaxes only slightly. 

She pulls away. "Thank you." 

Percy grins and kisses her softly. He pulls away after a few seconds and strokes her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "I'm worried too and I don't really want her to go but this will be good. For her and for us." He smirks. "Not so much the monsters." 

Annabeth laughs softly. "I know. We can visit too." 

"Of course we can." Percy kisses her again. "I love you." 

"I love you too. So much." 

She watches as Percy's gaze drifts behind her. Annabeth turns around in her seat to follow his line of vision and she smiles at the sweet sight. Leander's no longer a chaotic ball of energy (thank the gods, maybe they'll be able to get him to sleep after all) but is now sitting on the ground beside Livie, tiredly rolling the ball back and forth. 

"What do you say we get these kids to bed?" Percy asks, already lifting Anthea into his arms and standing. Their daughter groans in her sleep before tucking her bare arms (she argued earlier that she didn't need a sweatshirt) between her and Percy, burying her head into his neck. 

Annabeth follows suite. She keeps the blanket tightly wrapped around Priya and takes the couple steps over to Leander and Livie, reaching her free hand down and saying, "Come on, baby. Bedtime." He stands and grabs her hand, holding the small ball in the other and she sends Livie a smile as she gets to her feet. "Thanks for keeping him occupied." 

"No problem." Livie shrugs as if it weren't a big deal. "He's adorable and hilarious. I'll see you guys tomorrow." 

"See you," Annabeth responds before following Percy out of the amphitheater. 

There's still a few campers outside walking around- some holding flashlights out in front of them while others are walking in the pure darkness, the moonlight acting as their guide. Most demigods are still at the campfire or in their cabins getting ready for bed in the remainder of twenty minutes before lights out. 

Annabeth steps up onto the porch leading to the Poseidon cabin behind Percy, muttering a soft "thank you" when he opens the door, gesturing for her to enter. He nods and slowly closes the door- trying too make as little noise as possible to not disrupt their daughters. After taking off their shoes, they tuck Anthea and Priya into their shares bunk- making sure they have enough blankets to keep them warm throughout the night and kissing their foreheads. Once they're all settled, Percy goes to brush his teeth while Annabeth changes Leander into his blue footie pajamas. 

He rubs his tired grey eyes and lifts his arms up for Annabeth, and she willingly lifts him into her own arms. Leander's small for his age so he fits comfortingly against her as she sits down on one of the beds to rock him to sleep, running her hand up and down his back until he's breathing evenly against her shoulder. She tucks him into the bunk he'd picked out for himself a couple days ago, leaving a tender kiss to his forehead before sauntering over to the bathroom. 

She lightly rasps her knuckles against the wooden door, waiting for Percy's muffled "come in" before she steps inside. He's rinsing his mouth in the sink and she starts putting the mint toothpaste on her own toothbrush. 

"They didn't brush their teeth," Annabeth sighs once they're both done and leaning against the counter, basking in each other's presence. 

"They'll be fine for one night," Percy says. 

Annabeth nods. "You're right." She then smiles. "The girls aren't even in pajamas." 

Percy chuckles and shrugs. "Anthea's in leggings and Priya's in sweats. They're good. Speaking of which- I'm going to change into my pajamas." He turns to leave the bathroom but not before pressing a feather light kiss to her forehead. 

After shutting the bathroom light off, Annabeth steps back into the dark cabin, the only light source coming from the trickling water fountain that had been gifted to Percy by his father when they were teenagers. 

When she reaches the bed they're sharing after kissing their kids goodnight once more (she just can't help it- she loves them too much), Percy's already pulling a white t-shirt over his head- and she definitely doesn't stare at his exposed abs before the fabric covers them. Even after all these years, Annabeth's cheeks still flush a rosy pink when he catches her staring, lips pulled into a smirk. She quickly turns to dig through her bag in search of pajamas, and once she's exchanged her shorts and hoodie for sweatpants and a t-shirt, she slips into bed beside Percy. 

Annabeth faces the open window, the cool summer breeze seeping inside a brushing across her still warm cheeks. Behind her, Percy wraps his arms around her waist, laying the side of his face between her shoulder blades, and she twists her fingers with his. As she feels his breathing even out against her back- indicating he's falling asleep- Annabeth stares out the window at the stars. 

But its not necessarily the stars in the sky that's holding her attention, or the ones she's feeling so much love for at the moment. It's those three little stars sleeping in the bunks across the cabin that she's thinking about (and her husband, of course). 

With her family on her mind, Annabeth soon falls into a deep sleep (still light enough in case her kids wake up needing her) full of lighthearted dream of her and her four stars.


End file.
